BULLETIN: (Bumfug, Tx) A gunman armed with two assault rifles and an RPG opened fire at a crowded CineDark MultiPlex in Bumfug, Texas during a sneak preview of the new movie "Severed Arteries". Initial reports indicate that several armed patrons returned fire, creating confusion in the dark theater as to who the original shooter was. In the ensuing melee, numerous moviegoers were killed or wounded in the crossfire. One witness described the shootout as a "circular firing squad". Officials estimate that nearly a thousand rounds were fired before the shooting finally ceased.

Sheriff Merle Vole announced the preliminary death toll at 55 with another 75 injured and 12 with accidentally self-inflicted gunshot wounds, mostly to their feet and thighs. The 20 shaken, unarmed survivors were taken to a nearby HomeTown Buffet for baby-back ribs and counseling.

The gunman, a 19 year-old "loner" wearing a T-shirt that read "I Have Mommy Issues", whose incoherent manifesto written in crayon was found nearby, was reported to have shot himself after screaming "this movie sucks!". CineDark Theaters LLC has announced a full refund to the families of those killed and discount coupons for the wounded.

I sent your post to a friend in a tactical unit in my area. His return note is worthy of mention:

"Mr. Cunneff writes well and if you strip away the satire the reality remaining is starkly realistic. We have developed a model for response on our part in such a situation and practiced for it. Our response involves portable LOUD sound systems, super bright lights and tear gas with warnings that we will shoot to kill if a weapon is seen as a threat....no matter who may be carrying it, followed by a foot by foot clearing of the theater after positioning sharpshooters in the top rows to command the ground."

Good satire requires a hard kernel of truth at its center. I spent a good deal of time considering the elements of that brief bit of satire in order to address a number of issues related to mass shootings. While it might seem like a throwaway, the shooter's T-shirt that read "I have mommy issues" speaks directly to the profile of a young male loner, someone "ordinary, invisible" in society, socially awkward and isolated, with a fiercely protective, enabling mother. The profiles of the Oregon shooter (whose name shall not be mentioned) and the Sandy Hook shooter (whose name shall also not be mentioned) are virtually identical apart from the discrepancy in age.

The fictional film "Severed Arteries" is only a slight exaggeration of the glorified, desensitizing violence that is celebrated in movies and video games. Even the footnote that it's rated PG-13 is a comment in itself.

But the most important comment in "Battle Royal In Bumfug" is what can happen when everyone is armed, the "circular firing squad". On another thread, I made a comment that attempted to put it in movie terms, the sharp contrast between "High Noon" and "Rio Bravo". John Wayne and Howard Hawks were offended by the premise of "High Noon", that the sheriff looked for support from the townspeople. "Rio Bravo" was the counter-statement, that amateurs would only get more people killed. Sheriff John Chance only wanted professionals.

And that's at the heart of it. In these mass shooting situations, you want trained professionals. More armed civilians in a horrific situation are most likely to get themselves and others killed.

Aurora, Colorado was that type of situation and many have said "if only the audience had been armed". I'm suggesting, and most law enforcement professionals would agree, that armed members of the audience might well have made a bad situation worse. Multiple shooters in a dark theater, who's who? Who's the bad guy, who are the good guys?

Your hypothetical situation makes too much sense and so do the obvious conclusions, in the real world.

In the parallel world of the delusional this scenario would have a happy ending as God would make sure that his gift to mankind, the gun, would allow the faithful to defeat the Devil inspired shooter and walk out, unscathed, as heroes.

Additional Post Search Options:

Topics Found

Members

Posts

Do you want to quickly add followers, meet new friends, or simply connect with existing contacts to discuss the news?

Do you have an email group that shares news items?

It's now super easy and rewarding to find and add friends on Yabberz.

This post has either already been PowerShared, not eligible for PowerShare or is not your post. Return Home

Discussion Snippet

Points History

Sponsorship Status

Private Message

Don't share personal details with someone you don't know well or someone you know but who is acting strange. Watch out for scams. Never post a screen shot of a private message session to a public thread (doing so can lead to automatic ban). Unfollow to stop receiving messages from member, block to end all communication with member, and report SPAM/harasmment with Flag. 5pts per sent message.

Like Yabberz on Facebook

Share a 2nd Time and Earn Rewards.

Yabberz Rewards:

Sharing links to social media is a great way to help grow membership. If a new member joins as a result of a post that you have shared to Social Media (Twitter, Facebook, or Google Plus), you will
receive:

1-month of
VIP Membership
for FREE

+100 point award reward from Yabberz Rewards

New member will automatically follow you

Watch for it in your notifications under replies.

Confirm Close

You actively editing a post, Confirm Close, to close this window. Note a draft post is already saved under My Drafts in case you change your mind later.

✓ Refer members using "Find Friends" to send invitations. Each member referral earns 1-month of Free VIP Status. If your are already a paid VIP member, the next month following each referral will be free.

Having troubles? - contact support@yabberz.com or click:

Or Login Using Social Media

Notifications

The notification bell (top right corner) flashes when you have received a reply, earned point rewards, or have other messages. Check it now for a message from Yabberz's CEO.

Ratings & Points

Use the slider to rate comments based on quality and content. When down-rating, providing an explanation is recommended. Points help a post gain visibility and readership, as well as are required to share within Yabberz and sponsor posts on Yabberz.

Posts

Post meaningful articles, links, images, videos and commentary on news events. Be respectful, don’t curse or name call. You can share posts for 25 points and sponsor posts for 100 points. So long as you at least have 1 point, you can rate content.

Bans

You will be banned from Yabberz for reposting red flagged content, direct threats of violence, hate or racist speech, repeatedly demeaning other members, posts of pornographic or highly-offensive material or images.

You have been sent an e-mail with a link to confirm and complete your account. Doing so is required before posting or replying to content. Note, some users may need to check their Spam folder for the email. Having troubles? - contact support@yabberz.com

This user will be blocked and not see your posts when logged in. You will also not see this user's posts when logged in.
In order to later unblock this user, visit the blocked user tab found on your about me profile page. Click confirm block to complete.